Improvement in washing-machines



.rrinononn rnlow, or"y L.EXINeToN,1KENTUCKY.

y v Letters Patent No. 115,263'. dated' nay 23, 1,871.`

IMPR'ovEMENTiN WASHING-Macl-lmss.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part: of the same.

I, Trrnononn lIEBOW, of the 'cityl of Lexington, in I 'the county vof ,Eayette and' State of Kentucky, have invented certain Improvements in Machines for WashingOlothes, of which the following is a specification.

Nature and' Objects of the I nrenn'on.

The first' part of my invention relates to the con`v struction of a boxwith four legs, the front two of which are mounted upon wheels, and with two handles-upon i -the rear end 'of the box, so that by raising it the machine can be rolled upon the wheels and easily con- `veyed wherever it maybe desired; and also to sheathing the entire bottom ofit with copper,.so' that it will be water-tight,- and having the lsheetof copper to ex. `1 vtend out on each side'f the box beyond the.wooden' walls, and to Lclamp such extended edges above and below with pieces of wood, and passing through `them at properintervals thumb-screws, by means of which devicestheonly seams onfthe box- 'namely, the side seams-can be kept always waterftight; andalso to the construction and arrangement of a furnace just i beneath such box, and attached thereto for the pur-- i pose ofl heating the suds. 4 .Y f

The second part of my invention relates to the construction of a series of equal Wooden rollers with metallic journals, and arranging them in the arc of a circle, i and fixing them in a flame which is simplyplaced noon, but not fastened on, the bottom and inside of 'the box,

`and is removable at convenience, and inl'connection` with that seriesof rollers a rubber, which is fluted on `the top, as well as the under side, and perforated with 1 holes, and the bottom of which conforms to the curved form from front to rear, with the series of rollers; and i also to the manner of inounting and operating such i A.`rubber, as hereinafter shown. The passing of this i rubber over the'- clothes which are in .the suds'and on `the rollers washesthe clothes el'cctually'; The third part of my invention relatesto the oonstruction and 'operation of a treadle, the foot-piece of which is in the front, convenient to the operator while l `he works the rubber, and to so arranging two springs, in connection with the treadle and the bearings of the rubber, that the latter man be raised above the clothes and the series of rollers can be taken out atwill. Description of Accompanying Drawing. V Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine embracing -my improvements; 2 Figure `2 is a plan view, and i Figure l,3 is a centi`al vertioal longitudinalsectional `view of the same.

General Description. A is the body of the box; i A'. l', the side pieces;

K K, the handles by which the machine is moved about; i Y l y J is the handle, and

H` the leverby'wh-ich the'operator oscillates the cyll inder E, to which the rubber s'sllpended, 'and which has its bearings '1u the heads U U ofthe sliding rods VV'are the springs 'sea-ted upon those rods, and hold the rubber down vupon the clothes when the machine is in operation. 4

b2 b are cross-tics to hold the roller-frame together'. In.fig.3 is shown the general form of the body of thebx A, the form of therubber, the rollers in their frame B B, the. copper sheathing for'the bottom of the box c2, and the hinge f of the piece e, by means of Vwhich thatpiece can be turned back so as t-o allow the frame of rollers to be taken out, or toallow the rubber to 'be turned np entirely ontof the box, and to facilitate the putting in of the clothes.

Thefurnace K rests upon'oleats on the inside of the frame and under. the box, and may be cast ol' iron'. Its general form is shown in figs. 1 and 3. It fronts ,to the-front of the machine.l

M is the grate;v

L is the ash-pan', and when it is intended to stop the burning bf.the fu'el it is placed in the position shown in fig. 1 and excludes the air; but, on the contrary, when the-fuel isp'to be burned the ash-box is made to slide on its end langes'on suitable bearings, and occupy the position shown in iig. 3, and then the air for combustion is admitted in front, and also in the rear of it, as indicated by the arrow.

The fuel, through the front doors of the furnace, is placedmpon the grate M and. the heated air passes up into the body K'andunderthe suds. l

In iig. 1 is shown how the pieces placed above and below the extended sides of the copper sheet upon the bottom of the box areclampedand held thereto by the thumblscrews, marked W, to prevent leakage.

The rear posts i 'i rest-upon the wheels m m, while thefront ones, P P, rest upon the ground.

f The cylinder E is connected with and fastened to4 the rubber O.by means of the uprights D D, and the handle J is rendered adjustable in ,height,'to suit op erators'of high or'l low stature, by means of thefscrewrodsF and G, which are fastened,as shown, by a bolt passing through their lower ends and throughthe cylinder itself, and their upper ends pass through a slot, I, in the lever H, and by means of the nuts F F' and GG'. By the use of these nuts thcadjustment is easily made. The slot should be much longer than the distance from one screw-rod tothe other, so that the handleJ may he extended more or less to the frontas may be desired.

The treadle before mentioned is shownin fig. 1.

am effin The side pieces Q Q are connected bythe crosspieoe q.

The side pieces are pivoted, as shown, and ropes, of hemp, wire, or other material, pass from q q up over the pulleys S S, thence over the pulleys S S', down to fastenings on the sliding rods T T.

The spiral springs W are seated upon the pins rfr; and when the foot is. pressed upon the bar q the' ropes or cords draw up the sliding Arods T T, and with them the. whole rubbingvapparatns, which is mounted upon the rods u .'w, in their heads U U.

Claims.

I claim as my invention- 1. The box, composed of the body A, side pieces A', the copper bottom ci, the pieces c c, and the screw-v bolts w with their nuts, in -combination with the furnace K having the grate M and ash-box L, when each is constructed and all are arranged substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The rollers b, arranged and revolving in their frame B, in combination with the rubber C, luted and perforated, as described, suspended and operated upon ing the heads U U, and the adj ustable-handle lever H, when each is constructed and all are arranged and operated substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. The treadle Q Q q, cord R, pulleys S and S', slid rubber 0,'shaft E, and adjustable-handle lever H, when each is constructed and all are arranged and operated substantially as and for the purpose described.

THEODORE TEBOW. Witnesses Jas. A. LowNDEs, ALEX. M. SToUT, J r.

the uprghts l) D, the shaft E, the sliding rods T hav-A ing rods T T, springs V V, when in combination with' 

